This is Dr. Jon Kedrowski checking in from the Village of Namche Bazar in the Khumbu, about 15 miles down the trekking trail from the Mt. Everest Basecamp.

Yep - I am still here in Nepal. I am choosing to stay here for at least a few more days, but have been here now since the quake. I’m not just a climber, an adventurer or Ski-Mountaineer. I am a Geographer….a scientist, and I am in the right place at the right time.

Many of you have likely heard about the 7.9 Magnitude Earthquake that rocked us here in Nepal. I was at Everest Basecamp when the quake hit. 19 people and about 100 were injured in Everest basecamp. While me and my small team were not hit directly by the avalanche and sustained no damage to our camp, we stayed to lend a helping hand to people that had been either in the line of fire or who had lost everything and were in Camp I during the quake. In Addition, about 8,000 people have died across Nepal. This is a natural disaster of epic proportions. Without getting back into the details of that incident, I want to actually turn my attention to the people of Nepal and the relief efforts. I also want to thank the folks at EnerPlex for supporting me here during this effort. I have continued to use the solar charging equipment to fulfill our power needs not only at basecamp, but in the lower villages, as I have been accomplishing many different tasks along the way.

I spent a couple of days in both the villages of Thame and Khumjung, assisting in the relief efforts. I also
was fortunate to help the USGS with collecting some data about the earthquakes on both the 25th and 26th of April. For these technological tasks, having the ability to charge things up has been crucial in this environment. I have taken advantage of the power from my Kickr IV and Commandr solar panels to charge AAA batteries with the Jumpr Quad so that my headlamp and SPOT GPS Beacons always have power, and I am not ever left in the dark here during many of my tasks. At times, reading and interpreting things inside our dimly lit teahouse, I have taken advantage of the power of the Slate or Jumpr Stacks to stay illuminated with my USB LED Light Wand. Now during this crisis, more than ever, my equipment from EnerPlex has paid off.

While the Khumbu is well on their way to recovery, I have heard that Kathmandu and the LangTang Region have a long way to go. I am headed to Kathmandu next for a short stint before finishing this expedition and returning to Colorado. I will post one more update on the status of things in Kathmandu, and EnerPlex will also further announce what they have in store to contribute to things here.

For more detailed accounts of what has transpired here, you can read all about these earthquake aftermath projects on my blog at www.jonkeverest.org/blog.html.

That is all for now, officially signing off from the Khumbu and the Everest Region, this is Dr. Jon Kedrowski.

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In a few short weeks, once Jon has returned, we are planning on having a fundraising event to further support the relief efforts in Nepal. We’re thinking food, beer, Jon, & fun. Stay tuned for more details!

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